Bloomsbury Religious Studies

Capitalizing Religion: Ideology and the Opiate of the Bourgeoisie - Interview with Author Craig Martin

Recently published in the UK and still to come in the US, Capitalizing Religion, by Craig Martin, is a critical account of 'spirituality' or 'individual religion', arguing that much of what is labelled as 'spirituality' can be understood as consumerist ideology. We talked briefly with the author about his new book:

1.What particular areas of religious studies interest you and why?

For some reason I’ve been captivated by abstract, theoretical questions and concerns. I’m almost always less interested in the content of a particular religious tradition than the vocabulary that practitioners and scholars use to talk about those traditions. Why is it that, despite the fact that those forms of culture we call religion are not systematic and are not just about “beliefs,” practitioners and scholars continue to refer to them as “belief systems”? When what we call religion is so clearly public, why do people call it a “private” matter? When people opposed to “organized religion” organize themselves into communities devoted to “spirituality,” what’s going on there? I generally find that one doesn’t have to dig too deep into it to find that these are loaded terms—tied to varying social interests—and the social work they accomplish fascinates me.

2. How would you describe your book in one sentence?

That’s a hard question! Since I think the book ties together several theoretical concerns, how I would summarize it would depend on which theoretical strand I was thinking of at the moment.

First, Capitalizing Religion addresses the discourse of individualism in religious studies: Individuals, upon inspection, always turn out to be conforming to social codes; however, it appears that the rhetoric of individualism—an overtly normative rhetoric used both by scholars and religious practitioners—masks how subjects are constituted by their social worlds.

Second, this book addresses how discourses assign agency and responsibility to subjects: Individualism displaces all responsibility for social ills to individuals as opposed to social structures, protecting the latter from criticism or revision.

Third: Many “spirituality” and related “self-help” discourses recommend quietism, consumerism, and worker productivity in a way seemingly designed to reproduce the status quo within neoliberal capitalism.

3. When did you start researching for this book?

I would say that this book has, in a sense, three points of origin. First, I read Jeremy Carrette and Richard King’s Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion when it first came out in 2005. The book’s thesis—that our ways of talking about “religion” and “spirituality” are both implicitly and explicitly tied to capitalism—made a huge impact on me and I’ve never stopped thinking through the critical implications of their work.

Second, when I was working on my Ph.D. I spent quite a bit of time studying Christian discourses on theodicy and free will, according to which because individual humans had “free will,” the Christian god was not to be held responsible for evil or suffering in the world. I couldn’t help but notice the parallel between Christian theodicy and the common claim today that “poor people are poor because they are lazy.” Since then I’ve wanted to publish something drawing attention to this parallel.

Third, as I note in the “Introduction” to the book, before my father’s death he dealt with being laid off during an economic downturn by reading self-help literature that encouraged positive thinking yet blamed him for his inability to find a job. According to this literature, all of us have it within our power to improve our life’s station, if only we think positively; the necessary corollary is that we have only ourselves to blame for our failures. It broke my heart to see my father blame himself for his underemployment and financial woes, and that heartbreak lies behind much of my analysis in Capitalizing Religion.

4. Which part of writing a book have you enjoyed most?

While I hated reading “spirituality” and “self-help” literature for my research—as it seemed so frustratingly naïve and superficial to me—I did enjoy writing about that literature. For the second half of the book, where I offer an ideology critique of “spirituality,” I found I could write a chapter in just a few days because I knew exactly what I wanted to say. There was something cathartic in taking these authors to task.

5. Any tips for people reading the book?

If you’re not interested in the theoretical questions of part 1, jump to part 2 for the fun stuff!

6. If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be?

Easy: Mark Twain. I read a lot of Twain in high school and college, and his work has made an indelible impact on who I am today.

If you would like anymore information on this title or any of our others, please visit our website here

Spirituality: A Guide for the Perplexed - Interview with Author Philip Sheldrake

 

Publishing next month in the UK and in November in the US, Spirituality: A Guide for the Perplexed, by Philip Sheldrake, provides students and  general readers with a reliable and comprehensive guide to 'spirituality' as an area of study, religiously, historically, philosophically and in the social sciences. We talked briefly with the author about his new book:

 

1. What particular areas of religious studies interest you and why?

My particular interests are in the area of “spirituality”. I have taught and written about the theology and history of Christian spirituality for many years but more recently have become involved in interreligious dialogue and the role of spirituality in other religions. I’ve also been asked to speak to professional groups (e.g. in healthcare and in architecture) about what “spirituality” may add to the theory and practice of their work.

2. How would you describe your book in one sentence?

The book is written for general readers and students to provide a reliable guide to “spirituality” both in a range of religions and in non-religious forms.

3. When did you start researching for this book?

In one sense, many years ago! But, directly for this book, about four years ago.

4. What’s the meaning behind the title?

The subtitle suggests that the notion of “spirituality” is complex and is often ill-defined which makes it difficult to pin down. Yet spirituality fascinates many people these days. Hopefully the book makes the topic more approachable and coherent.

5. Which part of writing a book have you enjoyed most?

Probably I most enjoyed the profound challenge of dealing with so much varied material, coming to understand it myself and then shaping it into a coherent pattern without oversimplifying matters.

6. Any tips for people reading the book?

It is important to read Part 1, especially chapters 1 & 4, before anything else. That gives the vital background and definitions. After that it is possible to dip into the chapters of Parts 2 & 3 that interest you most. And don’t forget the additional “Suggested Reading” at the end if you want to do some more in-depth study of any particular area! I have only provided an introduction.

7. Where will your research go from here?

I am now working intensively on the theme of “spirituality and the urban” which I outlined briefly in Chapter 10.

8. If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be?

This is a difficult question! Do I want to be entertained or to be able to quiz someone who tantalises me? If I went for the latter, I suspect I’d settled for Jesus Christ as the teacher, role model and revealer of the divine, who inspired what became Christianity. What does he think about religion and what we humans have done with it across time?! Also, according to the Christian gospels, Jesus regularly had meals with all kinds of people and so having dinner and being quizzed would be familiar to him!

 

If you would like anymore information on this title or any of our others, please visit our website here

Religion, Postcolonialism, and Globalization: A Sourcebook

Later this year we publish Religion, Postcolonialism, and Globalization: A Sourcebook by Jennifer Reid. In his pre-publication endorsement Charles H. Long (Professor Emeritus, History of Religions, University of California, USA) praises the sourcebook for laying ‘the groundwork for a serious historical and religious discussion of the practical and discursive meanings of globalization.'

He goes onto say that: ‘[Jennifer Reid’s] narratives and the informative articles move the meaning of globalization beyond the limited economic focus and reveals the wide range of implications evoked by the terms of the title. The Sourcebook opens the concepts and practices of all the Human Sciences for radical interrogation and critique. This is an important and needed addition to an important cultural inquiry.'

 

Religion, Postcolonialism, and Globalization: A Sourcebook shows how the roots of our globalized world run deeper than the 1980s or even the end of WWII, tracing back to 15th century European colonial expansion through which the 'modern world system' came into existence. 

The Sourcebook is divided into four sections, each with a critical introduction by the editor, a series of readings, and discussion questions based on the readings. Canonical readings in religion, globalization and postcolonialism are paired with lesser-known texts in order to invite critical analysis. Extracts explored include work by Max Weber, Edward Said, David Chidester, and Kant, as well as political documents such as the British Parliament's 1813 Act regarding the East India Company. Sources range from the origins of the common phrase "jihad vs. McWorld" in the work of Benjamin Barber, to personal essays reflecting religious responses to globalization.  

Focusing on a history of religions approach, Religion, Postcolonialism, and Globalization provides an alternative to existing sociological work on religion and globalization. Guidance on useful web resources can be found on the book's webpage.

More information on this book, and others, available here.

Sex, Death and Witchcraft

This month we publish Sex, Death and Witchcraft: A Contemporary Pagan Festival by Douglas Ezzy in the UK, and it will be available in the US in July.

In his pre-publication endorsement Graham Harvey (Reader in Religious Studies and Head of Department, The Open University, UK) describes the book as 'a potent brew of embodiment, performance, liminality, sexuality, myth-making, and much more.' He goes on to say that Douglas Ezzy's 'clear analysis should inspire us to think again about ritual and religion from relational perspectives.'

Shawn Arthur (Assistant Professor of Asian Religions, Appalachian State University, USA) also outlines in his pre-publication endorsement that 'Douglas Ezzy offers an intriguing and rich ethnographic study of rituals that confront sex and death in a Contemporary Pagan temporary community setting.' He continues with:

'In the first in-depth study of its kind, he discusses and analyzes these important yet contentious themes in Pagan ritual in a respectful manner that provides much insight into the practitioners’ mindsets. It is exciting to see a scholar of Ezzy’s calibre grapple with these difficult issues.'

Faunalia is a controversial Pagan festival with a reputation for being wild and emotionally intense. It lasts five days, eighty people attend, and the two main rituals run most of the night. In the tantalisingly erotic Baphomet rite, participants encounter a hermaphroditic deity, enter a state of trance and dance naked around a bonfire. In the Underworld rite participants role play their own death, confronting grief and suffering. These rituals are understood as "shadow work" - a Jungian term that refers to practices that creatively engage repressed or hidden aspects of the self. 

Sex, Death and Witchcraft is a powerful application of relational theory to the study of religion and contemporary culture. It analyses Faunalia’s rituals in terms of recent innovations in the sociology of religion and religious studies that focus on relational etiquette, lived religion, embodiment and performance. The sensuous and emotionally intense ritual performances at Faunalia transform both moral orientations and self-understandings. Participants develop an ethical practice that is individualistic, but also relational, and aesthetically mediated. Extensive extracts from interviews describe the rituals in participants’ own words. The book combines rich and evocative description of the rituals with careful analysis of the social processes that shape people’s experiences at this controversial Pagan festival.

This book, and others, can be found on our website here

Interview with Editors of the Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all! What better way to kick off the new year than talking to the editors of the The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, which published yesterday in the UK (and publishes in the US in February).

We caught up with George Chryssides (Honorary Research Fellow in Contemporary Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK) and Benjamin E. Zeller (Assistant Professor of Religion at Lake Forest College, Chicago, USA) about their new book and ideal dinner guest....

What particular areas of religious studies interest you and why?

Ben: What fascinated me most when I first began studying religion were new religious movements (NRMs), the subject of our book. Why is it that people believe and do things that bring such social stigma and sometimes even persecution? Dismissing adherents of new religions as crazy was too simple and too unsatisfactory—especially after I met many of these people and found them really no different than anyone else. Trying to understand new religions remains one of the core interests of my academic life.

George: Yes, initially an NRM’s beliefs and practices can seem unpromising – even weird, but discussing them with their supporters usually reveals an internal logic. Their supporters are seldom stuck for explanations about problem areas. This highlights the importance of talking to exponents of NRMs – it’s not all in the textbooks, and it soon becomes apparent that they are usually as intelligent and articulate as anyone else.

Ben: On the topic of ordinariness, another research interest of mine is religion and food. Eating is something that everyone does, every day, and nearly every religion has developed rituals, beliefs, and ethics around food and eating. Yet it is very understudied, perhaps because it is so quotidian. Like the study of new religious movements, if you scratch beneath the surface, it is so ordinary!

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

George: The Companion is a guide to current research issues in NRM studies, highlighting the ‘state of the art’ in the early 21st century.

Ben: I’ll add that the Companion features chapters by some of the top researchers in the field, as well as many up-and-coming scholars.

When did you start researching for this book?

George: People often ask when I started writing a book and how long it took. But it’s an unanswerable question. Bloomsbury approached me initially in the summer of 2011, but the book was only possible after I’d spent about 30 years studying various aspects of NRMs, beginning around 1982.

Ben: George asked me to join him to co-edit the book, and to bring a North American perspective. But like him, writing the book has drawn on all my previous experience studying this material, about 15 years in my case.

What’s the meaning behind the title?

George: It’s part of the Bloomsbury (and formerly Continuum) series of guides to academic topics. This one examines issues relating to NRM research. The book isn’t a compendium of NRMs, of which there are several. If you need a compendium, you might try my Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (2 ed, Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press, 2012).

Ben: By “Companion” we mean that the book is an indispensible research tool, one that scholars and students will want to keep handy and make frequent use.

Which part of writing a book have you enjoyed most?

George: In the case of the Companion, I enjoyed the collaboration. At one point a designated author failed to deliver, and we jointly wrote the missing chapter, using a shared Dropbox file. Writing 7,000 words collaboratively in such a short time was a bit hair-raising, but we were pleased that we were able to do it!

Ben: I agree, working with my colleague George has been the most rewarding part of the experience. The technology today is amazing, allowing us to collaborate and not only co-edit but also co-write. At one point we joked with our Bloomsbury editor Lalle Pursglove that George and I were so productive because we had a 30-hour day. But it was true, given the time zones!

Any tips for people reading the book?

Ben: I suggest starting with our introduction, then flipping through the table of contents to find a topic about which you know relatively little and want to learn more. Certainly for all of us, even the most focused scholars, there is a lot in this book that is new. I really enjoyed learning from my colleagues as we edited their work. I am much the richer from working on this project, and I suspect our readers will be too!

George: I once did a course on photo-reading (not the same as speed-reading), and one key piece of advice was to define your aims in reading right at the start. Maybe that seems obvious, but students shouldn’t plod their way through the Companion. It covers a range of themes, some of which will be more useful than others, depending on their specific interests.

Where will your research go from here?

George: I’m currently writing Jehovah’s Witnesses: Continuity and Change, to be published by Ashgate. Surprisingly, there’s a dearth of good academic material on the JWs, or indeed on several of the ‘old new religions’. They got passed over in the 1970s and 1980s, when there was more public interest in ‘Moonies’, Scientologists, Hare Krishnas and the like.

Ben: I’ve become quite intellectually invested in the study of religion and food, so my next research project will likely take me in that direction. But in terms of the studies of NRMs, I may do some more work on transnational new religions, particularly groups like the Hare Krishna movement.

If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be?

Ben: Carl Sagan, the late physicist and scientific populariser. He wrote quite a bit about religion and science, which is another area that has always fascinated me. (See the published version of his Gifford Lectures that Ann Druyan edited after his untimely death, The Varieties of Scientific Experience [Penguin Books].) I would want to push him a bit on some of his assumptions, but at the same time admire him for his intellectual curiosity and rigor. He treated science with a religious reverence that has always really interested me.

George: Sorry if it’s an unimaginative answer, but it would have to be Jesus of Nazareth. There’s so much debate about who he was, what he really taught, and how the religion he kick-started should be interpreted. I’d like to hear it from the man (or God?) himself! I hope he speaks good English – I didn’t sign up for Aramaic at college!

Ben: I don’t know, you would lose all the mystery that way!

George: One other person we ought to mention is Professor Eileen Barker of the London School of Economics and INFORM. We’ve both had dinner with her on several occasions, so she’s not on our hypothetical wish list. However, without Eileen NRM studies would not be as it is today, and so we’ve dedicated the book to her. The book will be publicised at the INFORM Anniversary Conference in London in January-February 2014. It is 25 years since Eileen founded INFORM, and we want to pay tribute to her enormous contribution to the field.

Ben: We plan on publically announcing the book and its dedication to her there, so if you have an interest in the academic study of NRMs, please consider attending! More information on the conference can be found here.

Read more about the Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements and how to buy it here:

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-bloomsbury-companion-to-new-religious-movements-9781441190055/

 

Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination: Reclaiming Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage

Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination: Reclaiming Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage

 Dr Melanie Malka Landau, author of the newly published Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage

Monash University

“The status of a human as an acquisition, that is surely not acceptable to me, and the fact that it’s not mutual, that the man acquires the woman..and of course all the problems that come after- that a woman can’t divorce, and that if she is unfaithful her children are ‘mamzerim’. This is terroristic rule of women’s sexuality that is not applied to men. I don’t think it is healthy at all for a couple to live with the awareness of power relations such as these.” Tehila

(quoted in Koren, You are Hereby Renewed Unto Me: Gender, Religion and Power Relations in the Jewish Wedding Ritual, Magnes Press 2011, p110)

“I find kiddushin humiliating. The kiddushin itself humiliates me. It humiliates me in a deep way and represents everything I oppose in my whole being. And what was so hard for me- I can cry just thinking about it- that here I am, at the moment that would be so important to me going to stand in a public way in front of everyone who I love and who is important to me, and I am going to allow halakha to relate to me in a way that I think is forbidden for anyone to relate to a woman ever!” Shlomit

(Ibid, p111)                                                     

(my translations)

A few months ago in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia I told an orthodox rabbi and community day school principal that I write about Jewish marriage. He asked me, tongue in cheek, “Are you ‘for’ or ‘against’?”

“Proceed with caution!”  I responded. And I wasn’t joking. Kiddushin, and the acquisition of the woman by the man that traditional Jewish marriage entails, is a dangerous enterprise.

The current non-reciprocal model of kiddushin is not an appropriate contract for a relationship between equals. Many, if not, most women would not agree to such a relationship if they knew what it entailed. Other women who do know what it entails, (see for example, Koren, You are Hereby Renewed, 2011) are still going on with it for a range of complex and difficult reasons not within the scope of this blog.

Before I zoom back in on more details about Jewish Marriage and my book I want to explain that my academic work and personal practice represents a dance within the tension of marrying the traditional and the radical new. I am not willing to sacrifice my values on the altar of religious practice and observance masquerading as an excuse for male privilege (or racism or whatever), and I am not willing to abandon the richness and the love and depth of the tradition. And so it is within this creative tension that my work and my life happens. As Rav Kook says: If we don’t have the ancient, we also don’t have the radical new. 

Back to marriage: In addition to the inequality of the structure and formation of the marriage relationship, the possibility of a woman being stranded in a marriage because of a recalcitrant husband is a risk that no Jewish woman should be forced to take in the 21^st century.

My recently published book Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage: Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination explores two particular alternative forms of ‘marriage’ in the Jewish tradition, namely conditional marriage and “derekh kiddushin” (in the way of marriage). Firstly, I discuss conditional marriage where the marriage is conditional on the husband not to withhold a ‘get’, Jewish divorce. In the event that he does withhold a ‘get’, after a specified period then the marriage is considered retroactively nullified. After civil divorce was introduced in French courts in 1884, French Jews were concerned about Jewish women getting divorced civilly and then remarrying without a Jewish divorce. They received permission from Rabbi Eliyahu Hazan, the Chief Rabbi of Alexandria, to introduce conditional marriage, in order to overcome the dangers they foresaw. This prompted great consternation from many European rabbis, which culminated in 1930 in the publication of a collection of these rabbinic protests, Ein Tenai be Nissuin (There is no Condition in Marriage). In response to this collection, Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits defended conditional marriage in Tenai be nissuin u’v’get (Condition in Marriage and in Divorce), published in 1966. As well as the interesting and relevant content, the dialogue that these publications contain is a stunning example of divergent understandings of the role of halakha (Jewish law) and the relevance of moral agency of the legal decider.

Conditional marriage partially avoids the non-reciprocity of the ‘kiddushin’, the traditional marriage. Although the woman is still ‘acquired’, the marriage is retroactively nullified if the husband exercises his non-reciprocal powers and refuses to give the wife a divorce.

‘Derekh kiddushin’ (The Way of Marriage) is the other model I address. It also has talmudic precedent (although applied in a different situation in the Talmud) and refers to an exclusive relationship that is mutually contracted. Rabbi Meir Simcha Feldblum reintroduced this model of partnership in his article (in Hebrew): ‘The Problem of Agunot (stranded women) and Mamzerim (children born of a mother who is married to someone other than the father): A suggested overall and general solution.’ The article was his response to ethical concerns about the plight of agunot and mamzerim, as well as the alienation from Judaism, especially among Israelis. His article is another wonderful example of halakhic creativity that is motivated by ethical concerns. Appropriating dormant legal traditions, such as those mentioned above, in order to align praxis with current moral concerns is an important feminist methodology.

My reading of kiddushin as unreconcilably non-reciprocal and in need of utter transformation suggests a radical break from the status quo. Instead of emphasizing the holiness of marriage and its centrality to Jewish family and Jewish community, it reads kiddushin as a relationship based on unequal power dynamics that needs to be transformed if it is to serve as the basis for Jewish families.

Others have advocated for equal ceremonies, without acquisition, that are still called ‘kiddushin’. This approach that keeps the concept of ‘kiddushin’ but shifts its meanings pays tribute to the canon, but radically transforms it at the same time. Such a model maintains the rabbinic concept of kiddushin while equalizing its power differential. Mutuality explicitly defies the rabbinic definition of kiddushin. This may be possible and desirable in the long run. But for the moment, I think that a process needs to begin in which both women and men become aware of traditional kiddushin, its implications, and possible ramifications.

Orthodox women who value equality also need to take the risk and refuse to participate in traditional kiddushin. At a time of potential union with a beloved, and connection with the Divine, no woman should have to participate in something that is at odds with her deepest values and commitments.

At the basis of this research is my deep conviction about the full spiritual and material potential of women and the necessity of creating all the right preconditions so that they can be supported to take their rightful place in family, community and society. This rightful place includes full legal rights and status, as well as the opportunity to develop and share their voices and actualize their spiritual  and leadership potential in all spheres.

---

 

Christopher Craig Brittain on BBC Radio Wales "All Things Considered"

 

Christopher Craig Brittain, author of Religion at Ground Zero, will be part of a panel discussion about the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 on the BBC Radio Wales programme "All Things Considered". Tune in to hear Dr. Brittain and other panel guests on Sunday, September 11. The show is also available as a podcast -- see details here.

Religion at Ground Zero: A guest post by Continuum author Christopher Craig Brittain

Christopher Craig Brittain will be part of a panel discussion about the 9/11 attacks on the BBC Radio Wales programme 'All Things Considered'. We'll post more infomation closer to the air date.

'It is at times like these that I really hate religious people.' This is what one of my Professors said to me, as we sat in shock in his university office, moments after his secretary had interrupted our meeting to inform us that a passenger plane had just been flown into one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. This outburst startled me, but it was the next conversation I had that morning, that really left an impact on me.

After leaving the university office, I met a theology student outside, a kind and gentle man training to be a minister. He was fuming with anger. He had just heard the news from New York, and burst out:

'For too many years we have been naïve, and our bleeding hearts have let people take advantage of us. We have tried to be liberal and tolerant, but now we've had to learn the hard way. Maybe now we won't be afraid to punish terrorism and Iraq. Maybe now we can finally bomb those bastards back into the dark ages!'

I was shocked to hear this man – who up to now I had found to be a calm and compassionate Christian – say such things. I attempted to calm him down, but also couldn't resist commenting on his desire for revenge. When I expressed the concern that the kind of military action he wanted might kill innocent people – including women and children – he quickly interrupted: 'I don't care! Let's bomb them all. I don't care how many we need to kill! I'm tired of all this wishy-washy open-mindedness. The Muslims don't like us and never will! It's time that we faced reality.'

Experiences such as these are the origin of the thoughts that led to my book Religion at Ground Zero (Continuum, 2011). For beyond the question of how it is possible for men to fly airplanes into office towers, I now had another troubling question confronting me: How can ordinary and gentle Christians like this man so quickly and utterly be transformed into a ball of rage demanding violent attacks on defenceless children? How do events like September 11, 2001 cause average people to transform into a hateful desire for violent revenge? This, along with the angry statement by my Professor, led me to ask some difficult questions about my own religious faith: How can a religious tradition that teaches peace and respect be do easily deployed to justify murder? Why is it that people of religious faith seem no less prone to panic and desire for revenge? If religion is capable of causing such violence, can it even hope to be part of the solution to such tragedies?

The most common theological response to disasters and tragedies in human history is to ask why a loving God would allow such terrible things to happen. People raise this question in a number of ways: 'Where was God when I needed him?' 'What did I do to deserve this?' Trying to find answers to these questions – an exercise known as 'theodicy' – has been the concern of philosophers and theologians for generations. But as I thought about the events of 9/11, and then stepped back to examine how people have responded to other shocking events in history – the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, the First World War, the Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina – two things in particular struck me. The first observation is that many (if not most) people who are caught up in a disaster tend not to find the answers provided by theodicy to be very helpful. Second, the temptation to engage in the sort of calculus modelled by theodicy appears to remain very powerful, even among people who have no overt religious beliefs. In the wake of the shock of a terrible tragedy, many of those caught up in it lament that 'The world will never be the same!' This is quickly followed by a drive to identify who is to blame for causing the tragedy, and to articulate the 'meaning' of what is being experienced.

My interest in this dynamic, which is explored in my book, has only been deepened since I finished writing it, for very recent events have continued to exhibit this general pattern of human behaviour.

Many of the survivors, as well as the family and friends of the victims of the recent massacre in Norway, are currently wrestling with these feelings as they seek to make sense of attacks, while asking the terrible question, 'Why?' The same painful thoughts were no doubt experienced by mourners commemorating the first anniversary of the Love Parade tragedy in Duisburg, Germany. In the wake of such terrible events, many people find themselves struggling to achieve some sense of the meaning of their experiences.

As the victims and their friends wrestle with these painful issues, the media and the general public engage in a similar process, but in a way that is frequently saturated with political controversy. The aftermath of the Love Parade disaster became a spectacle of public officials passing the blame on to others. The events in Norway have been followed by a variety of politically motivated declarations: some assuming the attacks were by Muslim extremists, while an American radio commentator compared the young Labour Party victims to the Nazi Youth. Not long after the terrible earthquakes and tsunamis that shook Japan in March, the mayor of Tokyo publically stated that, because 'Japanese politics is tainted with egoism', a tsunami was needed 'to wipe out egoism'. He thus described the disaster as 'divine punishment.' Examples such as this demonstrate how, in the wake of a disaster, many people use the intensity of the situation as an opportunity to advance their agendas and interests.

For those who are members of religious traditions, this dynamic is disturbing and humbling. Religion at Ground Zero explores the tension that exists between religion's capacity to both cause and enhance the suffering and destruction surrounding historical tragedies, but also its potential to serve as a resource for responding to such disasters. Thus, while my book challenges simplistic accusations that suggest that religion is inherently violent and dangerous, I also argue that theology needs to operate with greater humility and honesty about its own limitations.

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I'll be carefully watching how individuals and communities commemorate and tell the stories of their experiences of that terrible experience. Most particularly, however, I'll be interested in analysing what sort of meaning people are making about the attacks ten years after the fact. What theodicies continue to subtly be constructed and retold? Does the impact of 9/11 continue to influence how people think about the place of religion in society, or in their personal lives?

There will be a great deal of editorials, official commemorations, television retrospectives, and even academic debates, surrounding the tenth anniversary of September 11. As I witness this media spectacle (and admittedly participate in it), I will be wondering whether, for all this talking, we have yet achieved any deeper understanding of this event? Or will the media overage amount to a repetition of problematic patterns found in versions of Christian theodicy, only in more secular forms? How we commemorate this anniversary will tell us a great deal about how much we have, or have not, learned over the last ten years.

William Kolbrener in the Washington Post

William Kolbrener, author of Open Minded Torah, has an excellent guest article in the Washington Post about telling stories on Passover.

An excerpt from the article:

Passover is not the time for cool objectivity and disengagement – what a contemporary psychologist calls our modern pathology – but a night for engaged story-telling, sharing in a chain of connections that goes back millennia. So I don’t care much when archaeologists, as they sometimes claim, unearth ‘finds’ either questioning or confirming the veracity of Biblical accounts. For me and those who tell – and re-tell – the Passover story heard from parents and grandparents to our children and grandchildren, it is the story, refined over generations, to adopt Hamlet’s words, that is the thing.

So after all the blow-torching, scrubbing and boiling are over, there remains the labor on Passover night of telling that complex story: ‘one who expands on the story,’ the hagada relates, ‘is to be praised.’ An active and vibrant story-telling meant to elicit a new kind of consciousness of past, present and future: a knowledge that makes the abstract real, in which spiritual and physical are joined, and the transcendental is brought down to earth – every year, around the dining room table.

Limmud Conference 2010

What is the state of the British Jewish community today? We are an ever more increasingly innovative community, with a renaissance in Jewish learning, arts and culture. Yet we are increasingly apprehensive about anti-Semitism and the threats that Jews face. Continuum author, Keith Kahn-Harris will discuss and explain this apparent paradox, drawing on research carried out by both Keith and Ben Gidley for the book Turbulent Times: The British Jewish Community Today.

Keith Kahn-Harris will be speaking at the Limmud Conference, taking place from 26th to 30th December 2010.  His talk 'The British Jewish Community in a Turbulent Age: the best of times or the worst of times?' will be held on Tuesday 28th, 9.30 - 10.40. More info on the Limmud conference can be found here: http://www.limmud.org/conference/

Keith is a sociologist based at Birkbeck College, London. He has pioneered intra-Jewish dialogue groups in the UK as part of the project New Jewish Thought.  His book, co-authored with Ben Gidley, 'Turbulent Times: The British Jewish Community Today', published in July.